It is the time to change your mind-set and push yourself into overdrive mode to hit those goals in the upcoming months. However, with the coronavirus continuously and aggressively mutating and still an impediment, 2022 will require tremendous planning and coming up with exceptional strategies that are executable inspite of the pandemic. This is because we must all have come to the conclusion that the coronavirus is going to be a part of our lives longer than we had anticipated.
It is important to note that despite the promise of a new year and a new quarter, too many people in the sales profession fail to take advantage of this window of opportunity because they just don’t know where to start, what to do and how to lay down the right foundation for a great and solid prosperous year of selling. The following steps will provide a guide for a strong beginning.
REVISIT THE PIPELINE
The first and crucial step to a successful year of selling is taking a close look at your sales pipeline from 2021 and properly analysing it. There are a number of things sales professionals must do to prepare the pipeline for the new quarter and ensure there are enough solid opportunities and leads to hit your numbers. Here are the essential steps to take regarding your sales pipeline.
CLOSE PENDING DEALS
As we have already discussed in previous articles, sales is a game of patience. Follow-ups and strong consistency are necessary. Some sales deals take longer than others because of various reasons – a buyer might have strongly felt that your proposition is best suited for 2022 quarter one for their business operation and strategy. This presents a best time for any sales professional to now close in and seal the pending deal from quarter four of 2021.
ANALYSE THE PIPELINE
This is the best time to look deeply into your pipeline and analyse the stages in which all your prospects are within in your pipeline. This information will allow you to understand or have an estimation of how long it will take you to move each customer up the pipeline and eventually close each one of them. It will also allow you to strategise and plan better because some will need more attention than others. You will know well in time where you are going to have to spend more time and where you will not be required to spend much time.
FEED THE PIPELINE
Great sales personnel know that they should not only focus on reaching within their pipeline but that they should at all times ensure that it is full. As you close a deal with a prospect and move them out of the pipeline, it is important to fill in that lost position to ensure that your probability to reach your quota is greater.
SCHEDULE MEETINGS WITH CLIENTS
When you have repeat clients, it is important to start the year and quarter by meeting with them and having deep and detailed discussions about what they need and their plans for the year and how you can provide value and solutions to help them grow. The best thing about this is that it allows you to plan out the whole year with specific customers and the right time to service them.
MAP OUT AN ACTION PLAN
Lack of preparation is preparing to fail. A new year is a clean slate and is therefore a very important time for you to take a step back and map out how you want to navigate the year before diving head first into action. Ask yourself what it is that you want to achieve, when do you want to achieve it and how are you going to achieve those plans.
The beauty in this is that when you ask yourself questions like these, you come up with answers, and in answering these you will discover or predict obstacles and objections that you might encounter in your journey of successful selling.
For sales consultations, engagements and trainings reach out at:
Mobile: +26775339605
Mail: bakangkaunda@gmsil.com
LinkedIn: Bakang Lethebe Kaunda
